A study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine is sure to bring the hyponatremia paranoia back out to the forefront, just in time for Boston and London.

Physicians at the Children’s Hospital of Boston Department of Medicine studied 488 participants of the 2002 Boston Marathon and found that 13% showed signs of hyponatremia following the race. This sounds like a serious issue, doesn’t it?

Well, the thing is the common factor is that these individuals on average drank 3 liters (just over 3 quarts) of fluids while on the course. They actually drank enough to gain weight during the marathon, as gaining weight was considered to be the most significant risk factor for hyponatremia. What does this tell us? Seems pretty obvious to me, don’t stop at the aid stations and consider them to be liquid buffets. If you’re drinking 3/4 of a gallon of fluids while out there, you might be overdoing it.